Astrologer Teri Parsley Starnes welcomes you to the Starsdance. I invite you to join me in contemplating the wonder of sky and Earth. Through following the Moon, the planets, and the wisdom of the seasons and signs, my goal is to offer a useful practice of mindfulness and intention for the thoughtful seeker. Shall we dance?

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Monday, June 20, 2016

Follow the Moon: Forecast for June 20, 2016 - June 26

I used to
think the mutable signs had it easy, that is until this month. Let me explain. Signs
are divided into three modalities or modes: Cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra,
Capricorn), Fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), and Mutable (Gemini, Virgo,
Sagittarius, Pisces). My favorite way to understand the mode is to think about
each season. Cardinal signs begin the season, Fixed signs anchor it, and the
Mutable signs shift between the old and the new. Cardinal signs are the
initiators. They get things started. The Fixed signs make sure the form lasts
by digging in and holding steady. These seem like big important and stressful
jobs, right? The mutables are shifty, hard to pin down. They help us let go of
the past and open our senses to emerging possibility. What could be so hard
about letting go and opening up? Oh my, was I wrong.

This lunar cycle has been all about the mutable
signs. The seed of this lunation is in Gemini. The New Moon sign influences the
whole cycle and orients us to the potential of each cycle. In Gemini, this is
about learning, using our air skills to connect to others, to pollinate ideas,
to shake up old forms. A mutable grand cross aspect pattern has amped up the
signal, putting stress on the ways we absorb, share, and interpret messages
sent through the mutable airwaves. Under my old assumptions that a cardinal or
fixed grand cross is much more difficult than a mutable one, I did not
anticipate that this lunar cycle would be much of a test. That I seemed to be
wrong about this influence tells me that mutable skills seem to be needed now more
than ever. Wake up calls can be hard.

Letting go and opening requires a strong container
(fixed sign specialty) and a willingness to change (mutable sign specialty.)
This willingness doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. Who doesn’t need a safe strong
container when the world seems to be falling apart? How do we allow all the
feelings around us to penetrate that strong container so we can open to change?
Right now I am thinking about the hermit crab. These creatures are good at
hiding, disguised as an ordinary seashell empty of its original inhabitant.
Turn the shell over and a tiny crab retreats even farther into the inner
spaces. Put the shell down, the crab may scurry away or go into stealth mode
again, “I’m just an empty shell, nothing to see here.” Mutable signs risk
coming out of their shells. In this month of Pride celebrations and the tragic
massacre of queer folk in Orlando, the risk of coming out of our shells is even
more poignant. The lesson of the season tells us that risking connection is
vital to our evolution.

The seasons are a map, an encoding, for how we
evolve. Astrology captures that code in its patterns. The modes tell the
pattern of threeness, so important for growth: Beginning, middle, end.
Initiation, maintenance, surrender. Birth, life, death. Each mode is essential,
but the mutable signs are most essential right now. Perhaps the next thing we
need to learn is how to come out of the shell of protection that maintains
illusion about others. Mutable signs are asking us to reach out, connect, and
truly empathize. This takes an open heart, of course, but it also takes
discernment. Jupiter in Virgo (mutable earth) for the last year has been
schooling us on this skill. We aren’t meant to be victims or martyrs. This
feels like a real opening and a new place to stand. Where will the next cycle
of initiation, maintenance, and surrender take us if we can learn to inhabit
this place?

Forecast
for June 20, 2016 — June 26

Moon enters
Capricorn 6:55 am

June
20—Full Moon: Illuminating. Summer Solstice. The Full Moon
occurs at the last degree of Sagittarius. That means that the Sun, which is
opposite the Moon is at the last degree of Gemini. Later in the day, the Sun
enters Cancer, the beginning of Summer in the northern hemisphere. There is a
liminal quality to this day. Liminal means the state of being between places—at
a threshold. Mutable signs (Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo, and Pisces) move us
from one season to the next. This Full Moon at the very last degree is a
threshold between seasons. Seasons are the patterns of life and change. We are
on the threshold of change. Mutability is all over this lunar cycle. Not only
was this lunar cycle seeded with Gemini New Moon potential, but a mutable grand
cross aspect pattern is forcing adjustment between all the elemental styles of
mutability. Major transits, like Saturn in Sagittarius square to Neptune in
Pisces, have marked this lunar cycle as important to cultural and personal
evolution. Jupiter in Virgo has played an important role, opposing Neptune and
squaring Saturn, bringing pragmatic discernment to the equation. The square
formation in the center of the chart for the Full Moon looks like an opening, a
portal, leading to possibility. Thresholds are powerful places. It is easy to
pass through one without a thought, but what if we paused to consider what we
want in this brief moment between what has happened and what comes next? This
Full Moon is such an opportunity.

At the New Moon I wrote this as intention and
invocation for the lunar cycle: “I want to
cultivate readiness and curiosity. I desire the presence of mind to pause
before reaction, to reflect before decisions, to wonder before I know. Life can
change when we change our minds.” I’m not sure how much closer I am to this
goal, but it still resonates as worthy of this lunar cycle poised on the cusp
of change. What is your threshold?

The Moon in Sagittarius points our attention to the
sky. What are the big truths guiding you? What seems eternal as the world
constantly shifts and changes around you? The important thing to realize may be
that the external forms of truth can change. The mutable lessons of this
lunation may be to recognize how truth feels, not what it looks like. I suspect
there are not many of these immutable truths. Perhaps “Love is all” and “Change
is constant” are the only ones. Saturn in Sagittarius is opposing Mercury in
Gemini exactly. The big balancing act of this opposition is between whole truth
and the infinite fractal manifestations of it. Chaotic diversity is an asset.
We are on the cusp of understanding truth in new ways. Let’s think
holographically: Within each part there is the whole.

The opposition between Jupiter in Virgo and Neptune
in Pisces has been ongoing. I’ve experienced this as the balancing act between
greater empathy and greater self-care. It is imperative to find the balance
here. This churning opposition moves us to the next evolutionary stage where we
remember our connections and can handle the vulnerability of caring.

In spite of the challenges of this grand cross, the
potential for healing is great. In fact, we may be driven to new levels of
healing by the heavy players (Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune) in this grand cross.
If this Full Moon is a threshold for the next season, what mission will you
undertake this Summer? The sign of Cancer leads the way. Refuge, hearth,
nurturance, defense of family, responsibility to the young and vulnerable moves
us to action. In this year of a presidential election in the U.S. it is best to
not be complacent about these very important issues. Activism increases. Remember
the mutable lessons of connection as you act from the heart of Cancer’s
concern.

Moon in Capricorn
Tuesday, June 21. Hefty earth
energy helps to calm us. The Moon in Capricorn forms a solid trine to benefic
Jupiter in Virgo. Listen to the historians and pragmatists. They have useful
information.

Moon enters Aquarius
3:08 pm CDT
Wednesday, June 22. Mercury in
Gemini stirs it up today. Mercury, as communicator and trickster, is strong
here in the sign it rules. Mercury is also the multiplier. If one insight is
good, why not provide a bunch of them? While we’re at it, let’s get really
bored if we stick with something for too long and let’s play with those silly human
assumptions about what is really going on. Mercury is square to Jupiter in
Virgo and the nodes of the Moon, creating a larger possibility that the
unexpected will happen. The evolutionary pathway could be muddied by too many
distractions. Remember that feeling of connection and empathy. Remember we are
more than the sum of our parts.

Moon in
Aquarius
Thursday, June 23. We may bristle at the experience of
someone trying to control our thoughts and expression. The quincunx between
Mercury in Gemini and Pluto in Capricorn does nothing to enhance harmony. Today
may be the day to declare your liberation from those who may be trying to
control you. The Moon in Aquarius only fuels the desire to be free. Rather than
pick fights for the sake of fighting, we have the energy to look at the source
of conflict and shift the pattern. Mercury in Gemini’s secret weapon is
curiosity. Use it well.

Moon
enters Pisces 9:30 pm CDTJune 24—Disseminating Moon: Sharing. Perhaps you
notice it, the mutable grand cross pattern is breaking up. That doesn’t mean we
are finished with the mutable tasks of sensing and adapting, but the feeling of
crisis may be abating. Our nervous systems are relaxing a bit. This shift in
energy gives us the opportunity to assess what we have learned during this
lunar cycle, which began on June 4. Our actions, words and even thoughts carry
a bigger impact than we think. I notice that I am more aware of webs of
connection. Perhaps I am learning how to put myself in another’s place. Is it
possible to apply this sense of empathy to those who are very different from
me? When I take that risk, what happens to the web?

The Moon is
in Aquarius for most of the day. An early morning square between the Moon and
Mars could touch off conflict within community giving us something on which to
apply all our new mutable wisdoms. Discernment balances empathy. Curiosity
balances fundamentalism.

Moon
in Pisces
Saturday, June 25. A friend
with a Moon in Pisces recently told me that she had bad boundaries because she
assumed that everyone she met was good. How sad that we often think that is a
detrimental quality rather than something to aspire to. I told her that. What
if we all went through life assuming that the other people we met were
basically good? The Moon in Pisces today starts off with a trine to the Sun and
Venus in Cancer. Empathy can help us see the root causes of bad behavior.
Empathy doesn’t mean we cave to bullies. It just means we see where they are
coming from. The Moon makes a square to Saturn and comes into conjunction with
Neptune next. Another way we torture ourselves is to doubt our own basic
goodness. Follow the Saturn lead and commit to living from that truth.

Moon
in Pisces
Sunday, June 26. The Moon in
Pisces is wrapping up so many of the mutable lessons of this lunar cycle. We
are picking up subtle vibrations, recalling that we are connected to each
other. Vulnerabilities surface when we feel exposed or when we sense another’s
pain. Yet, there is joy here too. It is as if we are welcoming back long lost
pieces of ourselves. The message received from Jupiter in Virgo today (opposing
the Moon and trine to Pluto in Capricorn) is trust your instincts. Balance
compassion with self-love. Be a pragmatic mystic. These insights come in handy
since Mercury in Gemini makes a quincunx to Mars in Scorpio. Once again, a Yod
aspect pattern forms with Mars as the focus. This pattern was also present when
the Orlando shootings occurred. When nervous systems are stretched, people can
snap. Be gentle with yourself and be aware that others may be on shaky ground.
Acknowledging anger can lead to positive change. Venus in Cancer forms another
quincunx aspect with Saturn in Sagittarius. This type of aspect can feel
stressful without really knowing why. Take family concerns seriously.